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Jailhouse rocks in Ventura County sheriff's version of lip-sync challenge

A medley of old-school rap, ’70s disco and alt-rock meets scenes of crime labs, mounted deputies on the beach and explosions by the bomb squad in the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office’s answer to the lip-sync challenge.

Sheriff Geoff Dean opens the video, released Wednesday morning, by acknowledging his agency is a bit late to the viral trend but welcoming viewers to visit the sheriff’s website.

Deputies on motorcycle, in the jails, hoisted out a helicopter and on the roads of Ventura County flash by through the series of clips.

“It was fun, and people really stepped up,” said Sgt. Eric Buschow, a spokesman for the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office. “It represents the agency, I think, very well.”

Santa Paula police kicked off the trend in Ventura County with their “In My Feelings” challenge video July 21. Port Hueneme police followed about a week later with a lip-sync challenge video complete with mariachis and views of the Port of Hueneme.

Oxnard police dropped their version of the challenge video, with cameos from the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders and plenty of low riders, on Aug. 11.

Members of the Ventura County sheriff's bomb squad participate in the lip-sync challenge.(Photo: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/VENTURA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE)

The seven-minute video from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office showcases deputies, civilians and even volunteers from across the agency’s many departments.

“Volunteers from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office family came together and danced their hearts out participating in the national lip sync challenge!!” says the explanation with the video post. “Everyone had a great time highlighting the many aspects of the Sheriff’s Office. We hope you enjoy watching this video as much as we have.”

The production took about three weeks from concept to completion, Buschow said.

Many of the shots were taken while deputies were already training, so it took time to coordinate. Scenes from the helicopter, for example, were done as the crew was out.

“We fly missions every day, so putting a guy with a camera in there to do a quick lip-sync isn’t a big imposition,” he said.

The video also served as a way to display jobs beyond deputies such as crime lab technicians and nurses in the jails.

“This was a really good opportunity to kind of showcase all the moving parts, if you will, that make us the department that we are and the services that we offer,” Buschow said.

The video closes as Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September” blares and Dean gives high-fives to a large group of employees packed in the agency’s helicopter hangar. At the end, he boards a helicopter and flies off as the people below wave.

“Are you up to the challenge?” the video asks in its final seconds, offering up the department’s recruiting site www.applyventurasheriff.org.